Celtics Starters Have Barely Played Together This Year

Porzingis isn't the only member of Boston's first five to miss double-digit games in this follow-up season.

Four-time All-Star Celtics forward Jaylen Brown is set to miss his 13th contest of the year on Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, while six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday has been sidelined for 16 contests already.

Still, those various ailments haven't precluded Boston from posting an impressive 49-19 record on the year, good for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum and two-time All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White round out the Celtics' starters. Both have been largely healthy this year, and seem likely to add another All-NBA and another All-Defensive Team honor, respectively, to their resumes this spring if they can stay healthy a bit longer. White has only missed four games so far this year, while Tatum has been on the shelf for five.

Tatum, however, could miss a sixth game this year on Tuesday night. According to Noa Dalzell of CLNS, Tatum is considered merely questionable with a right knee tendinopathy.

"Boston’s preferred five has logged just 307 minutes together [in just 20 games] and has a minus-1.6 net rating in that span," Chris Forsberg writes. "Boston’s top six — adding in Al Horford — has been available just 16 times. The Celtics have had their top 10 — adding in Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, and Neemias Queta — available just 12 times over 68 games."

Horford, 38, has been unavailable for 16 contests as well. Ironically, Pritchard is considered the favorite league-wide to earn Sixth Man of the Year honors — even though he's probably actually the seventh man on his own team.

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"The numbers have improved from a rocky start after Porzingis first returned from offseason ankle surgery, but are not nearly as glitzy as the plus-17.3 net rating that Boston posted in 265 minutes with Horford as the starting center while Porzingis was rehabbing," Forsberg adds. "What’s more, a lineup with [third-string center Luke] Kornet starting in place of both Horford and Porzingis has a plus-11.5 net rating in 68 minutes."

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